100s of Measurable Behavior Goals for an IEP.
I can’t believe I haven’t tackled this topic before. Well, ok, I can. It’s an IEP subject area that is incredibly complex. It also is one that affects our kids day-to-day the most, and in my opinion, is usually handled the worst. I see horrible FBAs completed by well-intended staff who have no business doing one, and the results show it.
But, goals can be a starting point. If you’re having trouble defining what it is that your child is struggling with, sometimes reading over goals describing desirable behavior can help get you there.
This post has a lot of links. So grab a cup of something and poke around a while. Behavior is a complex topic, and you cannot talk about behavior goals without also talking about FBAs, discipline, manifestation hearings and so on. As I say, “knowledge base I wish I didn’t have to have” but I do.
But let’s not put the cart before the horse.
You have to start with an FBA. A friend and Behavior Specialist wrote this excellent post about behavior and FBAs. That should definitely be your starting point if your child has not had an FBA.
A Parents’ Guide to FBAs, Behaviors, Behavior Plans and more.
Can you have Behavior Goals without an FBA?
Short answer is yes. However, doing an FBA first is best practice. And, how do you know that you need behavior goals if you have not done any evaluations regarding behavior? You would need the FBA to drive the Behavior Plan within the IEP.
That being said, if my child’s behaviors were minimal and adequately addressed in the IEP without an FBA, I’m not sure that would be a battle I would fight. Every situation is different.
Main thing to remember: All behavior tells you something. What is your child trying to say?
Can you have a Behavior Plan without an IEP?
Again, short answer is yes. I have seen it done (though I did not question the validity of doing it this way as it was not my client). For some kids, their only area of need might be behavior. Therefore it kinda sorta makes sense that they only need a behavior plan and not a full blown IEP.
However, I think this is a horrible practice. If a child has behaviors significant enough to warrant a behavior plan, then they should have an IEP and the procedural protections it offers as far as discipline and manifestation hearings. You can read more about that below too. Again, this is a complex topic with lots of tangents.
Teach the skill or accommodate the deficit
In behavior, there’s a whole lot of talk about “making good choices.” Just make sure that the child has the skill set before the expectation is set. It’s very easy to lay out expectations of what you wish for a child to do. But if they don’t have the skill, it is never going to happen. This goes back to your FBA. Make sure that as behaviors are listed, that they are defined as either “will of the child” or “lack of skill set.” There is a huge difference, but both can result in being expelled from school.
Two of my favorite experts for behavior are Ross Greene and Peter Gerhardt.
Behavior Goals for an IEP
I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are lots of great sites to pull from. I have included some goals that I wasn’t that crazy about. Many of them were on a list with other decent goals.
Some had wording like “will act mad the right way.” You know what’s wrong with that one, right? Who says what is the right way to be mad? Does the child even know this? And how to do it? So while I think that the bulk of these are good, there are starting points.
More Behavior Goal IEP resources
Linda says
All I see are what the kids will do, but what about what the school will do to assist the student to attain these goals. What is the point of doing all this paperwork with the school, if they are not really “doing” anything?
Lisa says
The strategies and accommodations are listed as a different link at the bottom. Additionally, I’ve included links to both Ross Greene and Peter Gerhardt materials, both excellent behaviorists.
Diane Baker says
I agree with Linda 6/30/18. I see what the children are expected to do but never any information about how they are to learn to do it or who is responsible for helping them do it. I also see expectations written as “will accomplish 60% of the time”- Don’t we want them to do it 100% of the time. Please help me understand this thinking.
Mindy Markwood says
Linda and Diane, I agree with you both. The school system needs to be monitored in a measurable way that is public and available to all taxpayers and members of the community. A more formal training needs to developed at a local/state level, that requires recertification ever so often. This kind of accountability was intended when the disability laws were first drafted, I’m sure. It’s the “times” and “society” in which we live in, that fail our children.
Lisa says
Then I encourage all of you to get involved in citizen lobbying. Contact your legislators, have conversations with them. They don’t know what’s going on, and I’ve been begging parents to get involved for 10 years.